


Goodnight Pigeons.

by FeliciaAmelloides



Series: A Oneshot a Day... [98]
Category: nonfandom
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Personified Pigeons, Pigeon Religion, Pigeons, Sentient Objects, Well technically personified animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 21:49:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14246460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeliciaAmelloides/pseuds/FeliciaAmelloides
Summary: The pigeons in a tree far away from here are getting ready to settle down and drift off into a brilliant slumber.Join them in their evening prayer ritual before sleep carries them away.





	Goodnight Pigeons.

**Author's Note:**

> I love this oneshot. It’s oddly peaceful and I think it flows better than my average oneshot. Hope you like it too.

The tree rustled with anxiety as another plump bird settled down in its branches to roost. There were now three pigeons chilling in the upper branches of the tree and two who preferred the lower boughs.

“Hey, you guys have a good day?” The new arrival asked, fluffing his feathers as he spoke.

“Oh, it was alright. We didn’t get much building done though. Had to scare off some crows.” Lydia, a female pigeon with a fiery attitude, replied offhandedly.

“Ugh, crows are the worst. Wish I had a mate to build a nest with though.” The other, McCoy, continued the conversation easily. He liked chatting to Lydia and her mate, Mackleroy. They had all been best friends since their days in down feathers, but now that Lydia and Mack had moved on McCoy didn’t see as much of them as he would have liked. Sometimes it got lonely.

“You guys on about crows up there?” One of the lower level pigeons, Joshua, called up with a faint grin. Everyone collectively groaned. He was all too eager to repeat the story of how he lost his left eye in an epic aerial battle with a particularly violent crow for the nine hundredth time. At first, everyone had shown sympathy since losing an eye was awful for a pigeon (it virtually guaranteed that they’d never get a mate after all), but now they all found him just plain annoying.

“Shut up Josh.” His neighbour, Dorito, stated in a flat tone. Dorito was unfortunately named after a brightly coloured packet his parents found on the floor. However, in pigeon language ‘Dorito’ is a slang term for cloaca, something which came to be much after he was born. He still resented his parents for the name until he died.

“Aw, you scared of the big bad crows Ito? I’ll protect you~” Joshua leaned close in towards Dorito as if he was about to bill him, then quickly retreated as the irritable pigeon aimed a pointed claw at his other eye.

“Maybe you guys should be mates. You’re perfect for each other.” Mackleroy suggested with a smirk.

“Oh my Dickin, yes!” Lydia exclaimed as she placed a wing to her breast, “You two would be so cute together-“

“Shut up!” The two flustered males cried out at once. Lydia and Mackleroy simply laughed alongside McCoy, who was leaning down to look at them with a suggestive glint in his eyes.

Once they’d all settled down and were ready to roost, the pigeons prepared their evening prayers. Each day all five of them chose a different saint to bless, so that their tree would be gifted with the blessing of Dickin, guaranteeing safe passage throughout the night. In the morning, they’d do the same.

It was the unspoken agreement that Mackleroy would start. He did so.

“May Princess gift us with the energy we need to carry out our duties in the following morn by allowing us a fruitful rest tonight.” The five closed their eyes, bowed their heads and were silent for five seconds. Lydia was next in line to speak.

“May Mercury bestow upon us the wisdom to improve our chances of survival and luck for the construction of our nests day after day.” Although she worried that she messed that up, no one complained and the wrath of Dickin did not strike her down where she sat. They closed their eyes, bowed their heads and waited for the next speaker. McCoy smiled as he continued.

“May White Vision allow us to remember to continue fighting in all hardships, for we must battle even the roughest of conditions to reach our true potential while in this world.” Everyone was silent for five extra seconds at this. White Vision was the patron saint of their tree, and so they paid extra respect for her. When the five settled in the tree, they got to choose White Vision as their patron saint themselves. They had all agreed that she truly was an exceptional example of true pigeon valour. When the silence was over, Joshua carried on.

“May Scotch Lass remind us that we can persevere even when our enemies have wounded us, and let us know that we must not let our injuries bring us down, whether they are in our heads or on our bodies.” Dorito had the urge to sigh at the fact that Joshua found an excuse to weave his injury into the prayer, but Scotch Lass was a valiant, incredibly talented pigeon and he dared not disrespect her. He, like the others, remained silent for the five seconds until it was his turn to speak. He finished.

“And finally, may Dee Dee Four Three Kyu Eight Seven Nine regale us with the gratefulness we need to accept that we are survivors, and with speed, grace, kindness and bravery, we _can_ change the course of history forever.” This time, there was no silence. Instead, all five pigeons released a cry out into the final embers of the dying sun, a mark of respect towards their chosen saints.

“We thank you Dickin for honouring our most valiant kin, and we hope that someday you will guide us to our true potential.” They spoke in unison, a reverent silence settling upon them afterwards.

The sun settled down into the ash of the night sky, and the moon rose from this ash like a phoenix to rule her fiery kingdom of glistening stars.

And underneath this beautiful masterpiece lay five pigeons in a tree, sleeping soundly and blissfully unaware of the glorious display of their god’s power just above them in the sky. One day, they too would reach their true potential and join the masses of saints in the sky. But until that day, survival was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Pigeons are my favourite animals in the whole world (closely followed by dolphins and cats in joint second). They are actually just recoloured doves, meaning that they symbolise peace and innocence, and they are also monogamous so you could say that they represent eternal love. 
> 
> I personified pigeons and gave them a religion in this fic. The Dickin medal of valour is an honour medal awarded to animals who have shown incredible displays of courage, usually if not always in times of war. Most animals awarded this medal are pigeons, but dogs, horses and a cat have all received it as well. 
> 
> The pigeons in this religion worship Dickin as a goddess, and in this fic the moon represents Dickin herself. The pigeons regarded as saints are those who have earned the Dickin medal of honour, going by their human-given name. They are represented by the stars in this fic. A pigeon reaches his or her ‘true potential’ by performing an incredible act which allows them to be remembered forever. They do not have to earn the medal of honour to earn a place among the stars.
> 
> You can find more information on the Dickin medal and her wonderful saints here- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickin_Medal
> 
> Prompt- Pigeons.
> 
> Original Number- 83.


End file.
